Achievements and career development celebrated at special event

Main image: (l-r) Physiotherapy Assistant Practitioner Donna Fleming-Powell, Laboratory Medicine's Ruth Brown, Alison Clarke, Deputy Director of Therapies and Health Sciences and Vicky Noel, Occupational Therapy Technician in Adult Mental Health.

This week we are focusing on staff retention as part of our We All Belong campaign because our workforce is at the heart of our care.
Learning new skills and encouraging development within roles improves job satisfaction and leads to better outcomes.
Today we hear about the value of growing our own in order to better meet the needs of our patients and their families.

Saving a patient who was choking, caring for bereaved families, crisis management, improving nutrition for the elderly, supporting patients in their final days and giving isolated patients their independence back.

Just some of the wonderful achievements of support workers, technicians and assistant practitioners in Swansea Bay University Health Board, which we are celebrating as part of our We All Belong campaign.

Awards were handed out to those behind these accomplishments at a special event to highlight the value of these lesser-known NHS roles, which are vital to patient care.

Their stories and those of others were told to inspire colleagues to pursue the many alternative career pathways in the NHS, which offer a wide range of opportunities for personal development and qualifications while working.

Although doctor and nurse might be the roles most commonly associated with the NHS Christine Morrell, Director of Allied Health Professions and Health Science, said support workers and allied health professionals “are the backbone of our workforce”.

She told the IMPACT event at Morriston Hospital: “We really do need to make sure we are celebrating you, enabling you to develop and support you in your careers because you are doing a fantastic job in supporting our patients.”

Rachel Mooney, Head of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeships at Health Education and Improvement Wales, told a packed lecture theatre how creating an agile and skilled workforce across a wide range of services including pathology, pharmacy, clinical engineering and audiology, is helping the NHS to fill roles now and in the future.

Those in the packed lecture theatre heard about the many progression pathways available for those at pre-practitioner levels, such as those in band two roles, to qualify for higher banded roles and even registered practitioner roles.

Danny Thomas spoke about his journey from being a physiotherapy assistant to starting his physiotherapy degree and how he is being supported to balance working on the wards at Neath Port Talbot Hospital with studying.

But the audience also heard about how those in support worker, technician and assistant practitioner roles are supporting patients and their families and also improving care through their commitment to service delivery and development.

Many of them have been nominated for the health board’s IMPACT awards and six winners were announced at the event.

Physiotherapy Technician Jim Morgan, a member of the trauma and orthopaedic team, was presented with an award for saving a choking patient.

While working on a ward he acted swiftly when he saw the patient in trouble, utilising the Heimlich manoeuvre, his Basic Life Support training and healthcare experience to save the patient’s life.

(l-r) Tom Harding, Rhian Wilyeo, Christine Morrell and Jim Morgan Credit: SBUHB Mortuary Team member Tom Harding received an award, having been nominated by his colleagues, for his dedication and compassion in providing dignity to the deceased and supporting bereaved families and colleagues. He has pursued additional qualifications in counselling, completed a support worker qualification with the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) and the Level 3 Diploma in Healthcare Science.

Rhian Wilyeo, a Dietetic Assistant Practitioner, was presented with an award for her work on leading the delivery of a structured education programme for care home staff, enabling timely identification and management of malnutrition.  This initiative has streamlined referrals to the dietetic service, reduced pressure on GPs, and enhanced service efficiency. 

Rhian and colleagues Sian Morgan, an OT Therapy Technician and Claire Wright, Assistant Practitioner CRT, are also the first in the health board to graduate from a two-year Level 4 Diploma Therapy Assistant Practitioner course, which they completed while working.

All three gave a presentation at the event on how the qualification has boosted their knowledge in therapy techniques and practices, which has positively impacted on patient care.

Laboratory Medicine’s Ruth Brown received her award for stepping up during an analyser failure. By guiding colleagues, liaising with engineers and returning to work at midnight to support the night shift, she ensured 1,000 samples were processed. This prevented patients having to endure further blood tests.

Ruth’s swift response to an air-conditioning failure also safeguarded vital chemical reagents used in lab tests across multiple sites, saving the department more than £50,000 and ensuring uninterrupted patient care.

Physiotherapy Assistant Practitioner Donna Fleming-Powell has been branded “magic” by the patients and families she helps through her work in Specialist Palliative Care, which led to her receiving an award.

She manages a complex caseload with professionalism and empathy, consistently going above and beyond to deliver personalised, patient-centred care which provides dignity and reassurance in patients’ final days.

And Vicky Noel’s 35 years of experience as an Occupational Therapy Technician in Adult Mental Health helps her achieve a deep understanding of clients and their needs, supporting them to achieve life-changing progress, often from a place of isolation to renewed independence.

Receiving her award she was told her impact is felt deeply by clients and colleagues alike.

Closing the celebration event Alison Clarke, the Deputy Director of Therapies and Health Sciences, said: “What comes across from everybody’s stories is that there are no limits to what you can achieve and when you thought there were limits, you just broke through.”